Mekoro Labradors

Sinead’s Introduction to Training

Sinead bought her first gundog (Fern- Dreamacres Wigeon Von Mekoro) in 2008 with a view to train up for the peg and to come out rough shooting. Fern was a fantastic picking up bitch, sired by Leadburn Viceroy she produced some lovely litters, in which many went to trial and win (FTW Mekoro Devil Ash). It was not known at that point how addictive and rewarding training a gundog could be.

Within a short space of time it was evident that Sinead had “caught the bug” of gundog training and with it began to compete in working tests and eventually in 2011 ran in her first Novice Trial with Amancio Falcon (Leo), who is now an Open Field Trial Winner and numerous Open Field Trial Award Winner. Only 4 years later Leo gained a Diploma of Merit at the 2015 IGL Retriever Championships after winning a 2 day open stake, he was handled by Sinead at all trials.

During the same time, Sinead was running another bitch Spinnakeu Feather of Mekoro, who became an outstanding bitch, winning a Novice Field Trial and an Open Cold Game Test, with many other FT and WT awards, she became the foundation bitch to our Mekoro breeding line. Since then, this bitch has produced field trial winning offspring and grand-offspring, such my trialling bitch Nora (FTW Mekoro Duck Diver) and her litter brother Field Trial Champion (FTCh) Mekoro Shot Marker of Waterford who qualified for the 2025 IGL Retriever championships. Our current trialling stud Dog, Open Field Trial award Winner Mekoro Make No Promises (son of Nora) is proving very consistent in the field.  

Whilst Sinéad plans to have one more litter in summer 2026 there are no future plans to breed continuously as having young children means the focus has shifted. Picking up, training, competing and teaching are all Sinéad’s passions and are set to continue with the new online teaching schedule and booking system being updated weekly. 

Training and working a gundog is extremely rewarding, and with a training programme that encourages positive attitude, focus, structure and patience the benefits seen to the dog and handler relationship is great. Whether teaching a family pet the basic manners, or a picking up dog to work with a handler or aiming to compete in field trials, guidance and instruction is offered by Sinead.